Writing tames thoughts.

Writing is how I think. Most of the conversations I am having with myself are not thinking. These vocalizations are like the weather, coming and going without my control, here one minute gone the next. The mind weather from last month is nowhere to be found right now.

But writing tames thoughts, making them concrete, tangible, connected with reality. Writing is thinking. Niklas Luhmann, the German Sociologist and developer of the Zettelkasten Method, said, "without writing, there is no thinking." [^2] Author Joan Didion said, "I don't know what I think till I write it down."

Thinking is nothing if it is not externalized through writing. Writing has to be externalized, brought forth in the world, actualized, make real. Keeping ideas and thinking in one's head is a recipe for disaster. Your ideas compete with our monkey mind and all the mental noise that is going on in our heads. This gets mixed with all the unrealized mind chatter. Authentic thinking that makes a difference to the world doesn't stand a chance.

Writing turns your mind inside out. It's a way to meet yourself coming back in the other direction with recognition and compassion. It reminds you that you're not alone. And this is what readers want from you. [^1]

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This post is meant to help us renew our commitment to caring for the world and remind our future selves to be fractionally better than before. This post points to where I want to work on my mental fitness and 'adulting.'. It is a reminder to operate in the world with love and compassion and includes tips put together in moments of clarity to help when caught up in the world's uncontrollable chaos. Please, continue the conversation anytime: will@kestrelcreek.com.

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References

[^1]: Davidson, Jessica. Free Your Pen: Mind Training for Writers (59 Slogans to Cure Writer's Block & Free Your Voice) (p. 155). JesDharma Books.
[^2]: Fabrication of Serendipity